TKC : Pure Memories
by uncutetomboy
Summary: "The Kathy Chronicles" : Casey Jones' Ward & Cousin, Kathy, and Raph arrive back at the Lair, and Ryn joins Kathy in telling, and reminiscing, of a Christmas years past. Another side of Casey is revealed! Giftfic to randomlass Please, Read&Review! Thanks
1. My Best Friend At 4am

Ninja Turtles: Pure Memories

_Authoress' Notes: Yet again, I am inspired to update twice in a short amount of time! Wow. Anyway, here's a Story I call "Pure Memories" as a pun (a bad one, mind) on the names of my OC, Katherine "Kathy" Jones, and randomlass's OC, Kathryn "Ryn" Thompson, which basically translate to "Pure Hearted". Sorry, Kat, for taking so long to write it for you, but I wanted to get it "just right", you know? Unfortunately, my Muse decided it wanted to be fussy and refused to co-operate with me. It took me several tries to get it to this point, but I'm finally satisfied. So, for all of you wonderfully patient Readers and Reviewers and Alerters and Favouriters out there… please, Read, Review, but most of all: ENJOY!_

_Dedication: As most of my Ninja Turtles stories… I'd like to Dedicate "Pure Memories" to randomlass, who will always be Kat, and all that, to me. Thanks for your continued support of The Kathy Chronicles, Kat! It means a lot. :D_

_Summary of Part One: Kathy Jones is awoken early morning by her best friend as she calls from Miami, misjudging the time difference between New York and Florida. Knowing that Ryn Thompson won't give up until she gets what she wants, Kathy leaves with Raph for her Cousin's apartment to get an item Ryn wanted to discuss._

_Disclaimer: (1) No, I do not own any of the characters mentioned or shown below, with the exception of Katherine "Kathy" Jones (no relation to Kat a.k.a. randomlass, before anyone asks); the Ninja Turtles cast belong to Mirage Studios (I think…), but definitely Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, whereas the "CSI:Miami" characters mentioned within belong to the genius that is Anthony E. Zuiker. I'm just borrowing them to satisfy my Muse. _

_Disclaimer: (2) I don't claim ownership of Kathryn "Ryn" Thompson; that right belongs to my IBFF, Kat a.k.a. randomlass who was kind enough to let me use her for The Kathy Chronicles as the childhood best friend of my own OC, Kathy. Thanks, Kat!_

Part One: My Best Friend… Calling at 4am

"Mmm…" eighteen year old Katherine "Kathy" Jones groaned as the ringing of her cellular phone, which had been a gift from one of her Cousin Tim's friends who had declared that no teenage girl should be without one, woke her from an otherwise peaceful sleep. "'Ello?" She sleepily answered as she snatched it from the side table next to her boyfriend's bed.

"_Do you still have that scrapbook my Mom gave you when you came up for New Years?_" The voice on the other end of the phone made her groan.

"Wha? No "'Ello, how are you, Kathy?", Ryn?" Kathy grouched, rubbing her hazel eyes sleepily as she stole a glance at the bedside clock; it stared at her steadily, reading "4:07am" and she growled. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"_Hehe, hi, Katy,_" her best friend since diapers, Kathryn Thompson, laughed nervously; she was well aware of her best friend and how cranky she was in the morning. "_Sorry about calling so early, but it's nearly nine in the morning, Sleepyhead. Surely, that boyfriend of yours isn't that good under the covers?_"

Kathy flushed, sneaking an appreciative glance at her boyfriend, Donatello Hamato. "I'll have you know that my Donnie is that good under the covers, Ryn."

She could practically hear her best friend grimace, "_Yeah, whatever, Kat. Anyway, do you still have it?_"

"The scrapbook? Yes, why?" She sighed, giving up on trying to get back to sleep.

"_I just remembered a picture Mom put in it from Grade Four,_" Ryn replied. "_And I wanted to remember the look on the other kids' faces…_"

"It's at Casey's place, Ryn, and I still don't have my licence, so I think I'm going to crawl right back in bed with my sexy boyfriend since it's currently **four o'clock in the morning**… and hang up on you."

"_Aww, c'mon, Katy; can't you just get Donnie or one of his brothers to take you?_"

"First off, just like me, they won't let Mikey within five feet of a vehicle with keys, secondly Leonardo is in the Dojo and there ain't no way I'm risking life and limb just to satisfy your insane needs."

"_What about that brother with the hot Brooklyn accent? Rael or something?_"

"Raphael? I think he's still on, uh, his mid-evening … walk," Kathy stuttered slightly; even though Ryn was her best friend, she wasn't aware of what Donnie, Leo, Mikey, and Raph did even though she was aware that what they looked like on the surface were only Holograms and they were, in all actuality, giant Turtles.

"_So? I'll call him; and then I'll call you back in fifteen minutes. That should be plenty of time for you to get to your Cousin's and find the scrapbook,_" Ryn replied before she hung up.

"I swear, I am going to kill her," Kathy muttered under her breath, closing her cell and falling backwards back onto the bed.

"Ryn, then?" Her boyfriend's obviously amused voice brings her out of her ponderings of how to kill her best friend, who lives in Miami, Florida, from New York.

"Yeah; honestly, she has the worst timing," she whined, trying to snuggle into his side, but found it hard to do as he shook with suppressed laughter. She frowned, smacking his plastron lightly, "Stop that; I wanna go back to sleep."

"You do know that Ryn will just keep calling until you give up and do what she wants, don't you, Beautiful?" Donnie chuckled when she moaned in distress.

"I love her, I truly, truly, do; she is my Sister in every way but blood… but, does she have to call so early in the morning? I haven't even had my cocoa," Kathy complained.

"Kath, how de frig did Ryn get my shellcell number?" Raph came tearing into Donnie's room, holding said shellcell to his ear. "What d'you mean, Casey gave it t'you, Ryn?" He paused a moment, listening to the other girl on the other end of the phone, "Fine; but, I hope you ain't too attached to Space-Case, 'cause I'm gonna kill 'im in his sleep when I get dere." He snapped the phone shut, telling Kathy, "Get dressed, Kit-Kat; we're payin' yer Cousin a visit."

"I hate my life," she bemoaned, even as her overly-amused boyfriend tugged her up from the bed. "Would it be horrible of me to just go back to sleep?" She asked him, as a snickering Raph closed the door.

"Not so much, no; but you'll feel fairly guilty when you wake up and remember that you ignored your best friend," Donnie chided gently.

Kathy gave him a light-hearted glare, "You know, I **really** hate it when you're All-Knowing, Handsome. Plus, you're already making me feel guilty for wanting to go back to sleep."

He grinned impishly, "And, yet, you love it."

"Sad to say, yes." She allowed him to help her dress in a pair of dark blue jeans and her favourite gold v-neck sweater before he ushered her out of his room to where his immediate older brother was impatiently waiting for them.

"Don't forget to take your cell and Bluetooth, Beautiful; I may not know Ryn as well as you, but I do believe she'll call when you're on the way," Donnie handed her a little earpiece which she settled into her left ear and she accepted her cellphone from him with a smile.

Kathy clipped her cellphone to her belt and told him, "What would I do without you, Handsome?" She grinned at Raph, "I guess I'm ready; are we going on the Shellcycle?" She couldn't help the excitement in her voice; she loved riding on motorcycles, mainly because that was the way her other favourite Cousin, Timothy Speedle who lived and worked in Miami as a Crime Scene Investigator, always travelled.

"Yeah, sure, Kit-Kat," he agreed, offering her his hand. She accepted and, kissing her boyfriend softly, walked with him to the elevator that'd take them to the garage, "We'll be back soon, Don."

"I'll have the cocoa ready," Donnie laughed, watching the two fondly as Kathy became suddenly playful and grabbed Raph's shoulders to hoist herself onto his shell, presumably so she didn't have to walk; one would think he'd be jealous, or feel threatened, of how close they were but he felt neither as Raph let out a grunt at the added weight and grabbed her legs with his arms to keep her somewhat balanced.

"Damn, yer heavy fer such a tiny little thing," Raph told her, loud enough that it carried to Donnie in the quiet Lair.

She hit the back of his head, "Don't you know, Mister, that it ain't nice to insult a Lady?"

Donnie just grinned to himself and walked to the Kitchen to start on the hot cocoas that he knew would be needed.

Meanwhile, Kathy squealed happily when they reached street level from the elevator and entered the garage; Raph looked over his shoulder at her with an amused look, as she was still perched on his shell, "Y'd think that y'd act yer age fer once in yer life, Kat."

She pouted as he dropped her and she landed on her rear, "Oww. That wasn't very nice, Raphie."

"I ain't a nice guy, Kiddo," he shrugged, smirking at her as he walked to his Shellcycle and straddled it, grabbing the helmet he had on the handlebars. "You comin' or not, Katherine?" He turned the key in the ignition and revelled in the purring sound his cycle made.

"I'm coming; and don't call me Katherine," Kathy told him darkly as she got up and took the green motorcycle helmet from a nearby shelf, settling it snugly onto her head; she tightened the chin strap before she got on behind her red-clad companion, wrapping her arms around his waist. "'Kay, I'm good."

"Good, 'cause here we go," Raph smirked behind his helmet as he shot out the automatic doors, popping a wheelie.

"Awesome!" She let out a whoop of joy as the unlikely duo sped down the New York streets. It took only a few minutes, but they reached the apartment building that Kathy lived in with her Cousin and Guardian, Casey Jones, where he worked as a Superintendent. "C'mon, Raph; I think April's over, again, so let's try to avoid Case's room, 'kay?"

He snickered quietly at her as the two entered the quiet building and rode the elevator up to the fifth floor, where the Jones' apartment laid.

"Considerin' what you an' Donnie get up to almost every night, y'd think that y'd be able t' talk t' yer Cousin about Sex."

"Shh!" She hissed, gesturing for him to quiet as she took the key she had hung around her neck and inserted it into the lock, the door opening with a soft clicking sound. "I swear, he's deaf most of the time, but as soon as you mention the "S-word", he's in over-protective-big-brother mode and wanting to bust more skulls than is normal; even for him."

"He gave you "the Talk", huh?" She glared at his amusement of the situation.

"Yes, and it was the most humiliating two hours of my life; he wouldn't listen when I tried to tell him that… Mom and Dad… had already given it to me when I was thirteen and had just kissed my first boyfriend. At least **they** didn't feel the need to show me how to place a condom on a guy, using a banana," Kathy whispered harshly, shivering at the memory as the two made their way to her room.

"He **what**?" Raph couldn't believe his ears and actually felt sorry for his friend; but it made more sense as to why Kathy twitched every time her Guardian was mentioned for close to a week just after she'd given her boyfriend his Valentines Day "gift" a week before the fourteenth.

At that moment, Kathy's cell chose to ring, blaring out "Best Friend" by Raven; with a squeak, not realising that her phone's volume had been turned up by her boyfriend before she left his home, she fumbled with it, switching it to the Bluetooth. "Ryn, you have the worst timing, ever."

"_Did you get it, yet?_" Ryn asked excitedly.

"No, Ryn; Raph drove me over and we just got to the apartment," Kathy answered, reminding herself that Ryn wasn't doing this on purpose. _However, Revenge will be mine…_ She smirked to herself as she thought of the looks her two best friends had given each other when the other wasn't looking when she and the Hamato family had visited Miami with her Guardian and his girlfriend over New Years.

"Meh, Kitten? Wha're y' doin' here at… whatever time it's," her Guardian's sleep-muddled voice made itself known as said Cousin stumbled out of his room, clad only in a pair of sweatpants.

"Gawd, Casey, put on a shirt," Kathy yelped, covering her eyes and accidentally dropping her cellphone.

"_Good Lord; don't tell me that Cousin of yours isn't wearing a shirt, again? And, did you just drop the phone?_"

"It's Casey; of course he's wearing a shirt… not," Kathy muttered, not commenting on her dropping the phone as she felt the reason was self-explanatory.

"Nice," Raph snickered, highfiving her with a grin. "Chill, Space-Case, we'll be outta yer hair in a minute."

"What ya think yer doin', Knucklehead? Drivin' around in the dead a the night, with my Kitten -"

Kathy rolled her eyes as she picked her cell back up and replaced it on her jeans before she ignored the now bickering friends and strode into her room. She did wince when she heard a crash. "_Uh, what just broke?_" Ryn asked.

"It's Raph and Casey; Mother of Mew only knows," Kathy huffed, crossing to her desk and continuing to ignore the fighting friends. "Honestly, I don't think those two need an excuse to fight, but they somehow always find one, anyway. I think it's over Raph driving me over so early, this time. Ah-hah, here it is," triumphantly, she held up a large pink leather album, before feeling ridiculous as her best friend wouldn't be able to see it.

"_Geez, Katy, took you long enough, girl!_" Kathy couldn't help a little grin at the teasing tone in her best friend's voice.

"It took less than twenty minutes, Ms. Exaggeration," she chided, grabbing her smallish pastel blue backpack and decided to grab another pair of jeans and another light sweater, this one purple, and stuffed those in there, too.

"_Ooh! Donnie just signed onto MSN and is inviting me to Video Chat! See you when you back to your Man's home, Kat,_" Ryn giggled excitedly before a decided "click" assaulted Kathy's ear; with a sigh, she swung her backpack over her shoulders and shrugged it on before she exited her room.

"Are you two idiots done, yet; oh, good morning, April!" Kathy brightened at seeing her Guardian's fiancé sitting at the kitchen island and watching as the living room was wrecked by the wrestling Mutant Turtle and Sports Fanatic.

"Morning, Kathy," April smiled gently, accepting the hug the younger woman bestowed upon her and kissed her head.

"Sorry about the two idiots currently destroying your living room," she smirked as the two continued insulting each other and rolling around on the floor.

"Honestly? It wouldn't be a normal day if my home wasn't destroyed," April replied dryly; it was an inside joke between the two women that April lived with the Joneses, even though she had her own apartment above her antique shop. However, since she'd gotten engaged several weeks before hand, she spent most of her times in the Jones apartment.

The two women just watched the two "children" as they called them feuding in the living room. "Raphie, c'mon; Ryn's video-chatting with Donnie and I don't need my best friend spilling all of my embarrassing childhood secrets," Kathy demanded after a few minutes and another ornament breaking.

"I do dat anyway, Kitten," Casey nodded sagely before he wiped at his busted nose and yelped as Raph tackled him again.

"But, Kat -" Raph was cut off by Kathy as she grabbed his arm and, with a surprising show of strength, dragged him towards the door.

"Leggo, woman!"

"No," she growled back. "Bye, April! Later, Spacey! Love you," she called as the reluctant Raph followed her out, to avoid having his arm tore out of the socket.

"I'll getcha later, Case!" Raph shook his fist at his friend, pushing Kathy's head and shoulders down a bit as he ducked the baseball bat thrown at his head; the two teens snickered when they heard April begin to berate Casey for his antics and tell him to clean the mess up before he went back to bed.

"Sweet Mother of Mew, you two are just like children!" Kathy shook her head, moving her grip from his forearm to his hand as they made their way to the elevator. "Not even Tim and I fight this much," she sighed, exasperated. "And we fight **a lot.**"

He gave her a confused look as they entered the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor, "Really? Y' two got 'long just fine when we were down in Miami over New Years, Kit-Kat."

She grinned mischievously, "That'd be because Calleigh was there; he's always trying to act more like an adult when she's around, 'cause he wants to impress her. It's the same with Eric. But, you guys were staying in a hotel, while I was staying in my room at Tim's; believe me, there were a number of spats over the remote or who was cooking, along with him cheating while playing Clue."

"How de Shell do y' cheat playin' Clue?"

She shrugged, "I haven't the foggiest, Raphie, but I know he did it; he's never won that game against me. Ever."

"There's always a firs' for everythin', Kat," he replied as they exited the apartment complex and headed straight for his Shellcycle.

"Most of the time, yes; however, not with Tim and Clue, against me," she waited for him to get on first as they put their helmets and adjusted them on their heads, before she mounted the bike behind him. "Onwards, and away, my dear Chauffer!"

"Yer askin' for it, Katherine," he winced when she hit his shoulder.

"Don't. Call. Me. Katherine," Kathy growled, hanging on around his waist as he sped through the early morning traffic to the hidden garage in the abandoned warehouse that was an entrance to the Lair.

_**To Be Continued, in Part Two!**_

_Authoress' Notes: Here you are, Kat! Part One of Two of "Pure Memories". I hope you like! Hopefully, Part Two will be a little smoother to write for me. Lol. Oh, Kat, before I forget, did I write Ryn right?_

_Anyway, hopefully everyone likes the story; it was really hard to get it to a point where I wasn't totally appalled by how it turned out, plus there was the whole "how the heck do I write Ryn…" part, hence why it took so long to type up and post._

_Thank you to everyone for Reading, Alerting, and Favouriting myself and my Stories, but most especially to those who take the time to Review; it means a lot. I think everyone else who is also an Author/ess knows this as well as I do._

_Please Read and Review; the more reviews an Author/ess receives on a story, the more and quicker s/he is spurred to write. I accept all reviews: Comment, Compliment, and Criticism (preferably __**Constructive**__ Criticism); I accept Flames, but nothing with swearing in it, since the Default Profanity Filter is on my reviews._

_Cowabunga,_

_Laura a.k.a. uncutetomboy_


	2. Remember When With My BFF

_Authoress' Notes: I. Am. ALIVE! (takes deep breath) Whew. Well, I'd like to thank everyone, especially the amazing Kat a.k.a. randomlass for their immense patience with me; I'm currently an Assistant Manager at a little Gift Shop, so that takes up a lot of time, plus my Security job. Also, just a little shout-out: I'm a Beta for RockinThatAfroPic; anyone who likes "Twilight", especially Edward and Jasper, should go check out her Stories. There's a link in my Profile under "Favourite Authors" to her Profile._

_Anyway, I'd like to give a huge "thank you" to randomlass (Kat, you get hugs, too, for being my inspiration for this Story), AshK (dude, you keep changing that on me!), and Sasami1 (thank you, but I did check for time differences) for Reviewing; I'd also like to thank InsanityxPrevails, for Favouriting and__ Alerting "Pure Memories". You guys (and girls) rock! Without further adieu, I give you the new, and final, Chapter!_

_Dedication: As most of my Ninja Turtles stories… I'd like to Dedicate "Pure Memories" to randomlass, who will always be Kat, and all that, to me. Thanks for your continued support of The Kathy Chronicles, Kat! It means a lot. :D_

_Summary of Part Two: Kathy and Raph arrive back at the Lair, and Ryn joins Kathy in telling, and reminiscing, of a Christmas years past. Another side of Casey is revealed… _

_Disclaimer: (1) No, I do not own any of the characters mentioned or shown below, with the exception of Katherine "Kathy" Jones (no relation to Kat a.k.a. randomlass, before anyone asks); the Ninja Turtles cast belong to Mirage Studios (I think…), but definitely Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, whereas the "CSI:Miami" characters mentioned within belong to the genius that is Anthony E. Zuiker. I'm just borrowing them to satisfy my Muse. _

_Disclaimer: (2) I don't claim ownership of Kathryn "Ryn" Thompson; that right belongs to my IBFF, Kat a.k.a. randomlass who was kind enough to let me use her for The Kathy Chronicles as the childhood best friend of my own OC, Kathy. Thanks, Kat!_

Part Two : Remember When… With My Best Friend

"There's always a firs' for everythin', Kat," he replied as they exited the apartment complex and headed straight for his Shellcycle.

"Most of the time, yes; however, not with Tim and Clue, against me," she waited for him to get on first as they put their helmets and adjusted them on their heads, before she mounted the bike behind him. "Onwards, and away, my dear Chauffer!"

"Yer askin' for it, Katherine," he winced when she hit his shoulder with her helmet-clad head.

"Don't. Call. Me. Katherine," Kathy growled, hanging on around his waist as he sped through the early morning traffic to the hidden garage in the abandoned warehouse that was an entrance to the Lair.

A few minutes later, they arrived and Raph pressed a button on his Cycle; the doors slid open, slamming closed moments after the Cycle entered the Garage. Kathy gripped him tighter at the loud noise, ignoring his attempt to shake her off. He rolled his eyes at her, "Y'know, Kat, I'd 'preciate it if you didn' try t'pop me outta my Shell; 'm sure Don'd 'preciate it, too."

She made a disgusted noise and fell sideways off of the Cycle as she attempted to get the image that was now in her mind, thanks to the innuendo in that particular comment, "Eeew-oww," she groaned as she hit the cement on her side.

He snickered at her, getting off of his Cycle as she took off her helmet and set it beside herself on the ground, "Katherine, Katherine - hey, watch it, Girly!" He ducked her shoe expertly, eying her as she began to tug off her other shoe; ironically, they were kitten heels, and he dryly commented, "Lemme guess: don' call ya Katherine."

She glared up at him from the floor, "You **know** I hate it when you and the others call me by my full name; the only one allowed to get away with it is Master Splinter."

"Teacher's Pet," he snorted at her; he muttered curse words when her second shoe hit him solidly on the shoulder.

"Stupid Bum," Kathy stuck her tongue out at him, scrambling to her feet and dashing for the Elevator before he could react; she pressed the button and giggled happily as they closed just as he reached them. When it reached the main Lair, she stepped off with a smug grin, "Donnie? Where're you, Handsome?" She called, her voice echoing a bit through the Lair; she knew that, by now, Leonardo and Splinter would be in the Dojo while Mikey would be able to sleep through a stampede.

"In the Kitchen, Beautiful!" His voice floated to her and she walked towards it, in her sock-clad feet; when she reached the doorway, he looked up at her from his open Laptop, and got a confused look on his face as he took in her lack of footwear, "Um, Kathy, where are your heels?"

"Up in the Garage; I threw them at Raph," Kathy replied, as though the reason should be self-explanatory.

He raised an eyeridge at her, an amused smile crossing his beak, "Let me guess: he kept calling you Katherine."

"Yep; got it in one, Don," she winked, crossing over to sit on a stool next to him and gulp down the steaming cup of cocoa that was on the kitchen island in front of her; without her asking, Donnie slid over another mug of the steaming chocolate before he blushed as she immediately perked up and threw her arms around him and kissed him firmly on his lips.

"K-Kathy, Ryn…" he stuttered, pink in the face; however, despite his words, his hands came to rest on her waist instinctively.

"Oh, she doesn't mind the PDA; do you, Ryn?" Kathy turned her attention to her boyfriend's Laptop, on which the image of her best friend, Kathryn Thompson, was shaking with laughter.

"Of course not, Katy," the brunette managed to get out between her giggles. "Ooh, oww…" She left the screen via falling off of the computer chair she'd been perched in.

"Are you okay, Ryn?" Kathy hid a smirk successfully behind her hands, pretending to yawn.

"Yah, I'm fine," the perky violet eyed eighteen year old waved a hand lazily as she re-perched herself on the computer chair; behind her, Kathy recognized her best friend's bedroom. "So, didja get it, Kat?"

"'Course I did; if I didn't, do you think I would've told you I did - oh, wait, never mind," Kathy grinned when her friend gave her a mocking look. "So, what page is this picture supposedly on?" She shrugged off her small backpack and pulled out the pink photo album.

"It's on the…" They heard the pages turning as Ryn turned the pages of her own photo album, which was purple-pink. "Twelfth page."

"Oh, no…" Kathy flipped the pages and couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from her at the sight of the picture; it was of a ten year old Kathy standing proudly beside a ten year old Ryn as they each held the hands of a twenty three year old Casey. In the background Donnie saw snow on the ground, along with several people milling around, and had to smile at how cute the two girls looked bundled up in matched yellow and blue snowsuits. "**This** is what you wanted to embarrass me with, Ry?"

"It was a great Christmas!" She argued, grinning.

"Why is Casey covered in snow? And both yours and Ryn's hair is wet, Beautiful," Donnie chuckled.

"The Great Snow-Wars of 1998," the two girls chorused, giggling.

"The Snow-wha?" Raph came in at this point and pointedly deposited Kathy's heels on her lap.

"Hey, owie," Kathy complained, kicking playfully out at him. "Jerk."

"An' ya love me for it, Kat," he retorted, plopping down beside his brother. "Hey, Ryn. S'up?"

"Hey, Raph; just remembering a Christmas from long ago."

"Dat you?" He jabbed a finger at the girl in the yellow snowsuit; her hair was up in lopsided pigtails.

"No, that's me, Raphie," Kathy rolled her eyes. "My favourite colour's always been yellow or gold; Ryn's always been partial to blue or purple."

"So, what happened?" Raph demanded to know.

The two girls shared a reminicising look before Ryn began, "Well, it was Christmas Day, so December 25th, 1998..."

)))) ((((

"Aw, do I **have** ta watch the two brats, Ma?" Twenty-three year old Arnold Casey Jones whined, pouting.

"Yes; Jessica, Hailey, John, and James are coming to Church with me," Maria Jones placed her hands on her hips sternly. "You agreed to watch these two little Angels last night while we went, because Kathy just got over her cold two days ago and they don't want to risk her still having the germs and spreading it to others," she placed a hand on the two brown heads of hair of the two ten year old girls who stood at her side, looking innocent.

"I was drunk last night, dough. Besides, dey ain't no Angels, Ma; those two are Pure Evil," he snorted, glaring when the one with her hair up in twin pigtails, his younger Cousin Katherine Jones, giggled sweetly; the other girl, her best friend Kathryn Thompson, just continued to beam up at his mother.

"You know, Arnold, I could always stay home with you, if you think you need help," Maria suggested.

He looked horrified, "No, Ma; I can do it," he hastily agreed.

His mother simply chuckled, walking out the door after she kissed each of the girls on their head and her son on the cheek, "Now, Sweeties, you be good for Arnold, alright? When we get home, we'll have some special treats for you."

"Yes, Auntie!" The two girls chorused, sounding completely innocent.

When the door closed behind his mother, Casey's blue eyes widened when the two little girls' faces changed to smirks reminiscent of him when he was about to cause trouble. "Oh, crud…"

"We wanna play!" Kathy crossed her arms petulantly.

"Yeah, it's Christmas Day, Spacey; and it's snowin'!" Ryn agreed, nodding.

"… play, what, you Lil' Devils?" Casey just knew he was going to regret this; he knew it like he knew that his adorable little Cousin had him wrapped around her pinkie finger.

"Can we build a snowman?" Kathy bounced excitedly in place, pigtails swinging.

"No, you heard Ma, Kitten: yer just gettin' over a cold," he rubbed a hand down his face when her bottom lip began to tremble and she sniffled. "No, Kat; if you get sick again, I'll be blamed… again."

Ryn gave him what he was sure was supposed to be a loathsome glare, but the effect was ruined by her biting the corner of her lip to hide a smirk; he silently wondered why he ever thought it'd be great to teach them to act so innocent as she wrapped her tiny arms around her best friend and pet her hair softly, "Aw, Katy, it's a'ight… Casey's just a big meanie-bo-beanie."

Kathy whimpered, her eyes filling up with what her elder Cousin knew to be crocodile tears but that didn't stop the pang he felt at how miserable she looked as she burrowed into her best friend's arms. "No, Ry; Case's jus' tryin' to be responsible. It - it's not his fault that Auntie doesn't want me to go out…"

"Dammit…" Casey growled, knowing he was beat when she turned her big, watery eyes to him and snuffled. "Fine! A'ight? We'll go build a snowman, Kitten. But, if you get sick again, I ain't takin' no blame; kapish?"

Both girls grinned happily, transforming before his eyes, "Kapish!"

"I'm doomed, I just know it…" Casey grumbled as he set to work bundling both girls up in the matching snowsuits they'd received for Christmas. He scrunched his nose as he was knelt in front of Ryn, buttoning her periwinkle blue snowsuit, "Dammit… don't you ever tell anyone I've gone all… domestic." He shuddered, causing the two girls to giggle at him before they jumped on him in a hug; he grunted as the force sent him to the floor. "Crap."

"We love you, Case!" The two girls chorused sweetly, kissing each of his cheeks with big grins; they didn't notice, or didn't care, that his face turned pink at their actions.

"'Cause, if we didn't, Auntie'd be sooo mad 'bout the bad words you keep sayin'," Kathy smiled innocently, rocking back and forth on her heels as she and Ryn got off of her Cousin.

"But we promise not to tell anyone 'bout how d'mestic you are," Ryn continued, beaming happily as she copied her best friend. "It'll be our secret!" She winked playfully.

Rolling his steel blue eyes at them, Casey picked himself up off of the floor and set to work on shrugging on his winter jacket. "How come I get de feelin' yer just bidin' yer time, Brats?"

"We dunno," the blinked naively up at him as they let him push their boots onto their feet while the other girl steadied her friend.

"Yeah, yeah," he chuckled, ushering them out the door, and making sure he had the key before he locked it securely. "Let's go, Kitten, and Mittens."

"How come I'm Mittens?" Ryn pouted at Kathy as the girls dutifully followed her Cousin.

"Maybe 'cause you like mittens?" Kathy smiled, gesturing to her friend's hand-knit mitten-clad hands with her own hand-woven glove-clad hands.

They reached the first floor of the Jones' Apartment complex and, with a long-suffering sigh, Casey held his hands out for the girls to take; happily the girls did so, and Casey turned red at the giggles of a few of the older ladies that lived in their complex as he allowed himself to be steered towards the crosswalk by his two charges. "You never heard dat old Nursery Rhyme, Kath, Ryn?" He was surprised.

Both girls looked confused and Kathy questioned as they finished crossing and walked towards a favourite Park, "What Rhyme, Casey?"

"The Three Little Kittens; duh."

"But we're two Kittens, dumb-bum," Ryn snickered at the glare he aimed at her; after years of friendship with his Cousin, Ryn was just as impervious as Kathy to Casey's tantrums. "Katy, I think Casey needs to go back to School."

"Nah; Casey just plays dumb," Kathy disagreed with a shriek as Casey let go off her hand and made to grab her. "Casey! Lemme go!" She laughed as she struggled in his grasp, "Ry, help me!"

"Never fear, Ryn is here!" Ryn yelled as she jumped onto Casey's back, causing him to stumble before he expertly tossed the shrieking Kathy into a nearby snow drift; reaching behind himself, he easily extracted Ryn off of his back before he threw her to join her best friend. "Eeep!"

Narrowing her hazel eyes mischievously, Kathy shared a glance with Ryn and both girls took up glops of snow and threw them at Casey. "Uh-oh," Kathy cringed when one of her snowballs hit one of the teenage boys that Casey was fond of.

The boy looked over after the snowball hit the back of his head, and seeing who it was, grinned before he announced loudly, "Snowball Fight!"

"Lil' Devils," Casey dodged as suddenly snowballs were beginning to fly every which way. "Wait, wait! Hold up, guys!" He yelled; almost immediately, everyone stopped mid-motion. "If we're gonna do dis, we're gonna do it right, a'ight?"

"Ooh, I wanna be on Casey's Team!" Kathy bounced up to her Cousin and slipped her hand into his; tugging on it, he looked down in time to see her pout and bat her eyes, "Pretty please?"

He sighed, rubbing his head, "I guess so, Kitten; I s'pose you wanna be on my Team, too, Ryn?"

"Since you asked so nicely, okay~!" Ryn laughed at his crestfallen look when he realized what had just happened.

"Ugh, crap; I walked into dat one… so, ev'ryone get into Teams of three; dere's, what? Nine or ten of us?"

After a few minutes, everyone was situated into a Team; there were two Teams of three, including Casey's Team, and one Team of four. "Ready?" Kathy screamed in excitement.

"Ready!" The others agreed.

"Aim?"

"Uh, Katy, it's everyone 'gainst everyone, Silly," Ryn laughed as Kathy stuck her tongue out.

"Nyah."

"Whatever," Casey smirked, dumping a handful of snow on his younger Cousin's head, "Fire at will!"

))) Present Day… (((

"The Snowball War lasted about two hours," Kathy remembered.

"And, of course, all three of us ended up with a Cold," Ryn laughed, violet eyes bright. "But it was so worth it!"

"I still dunno if it was worth Auntie's lecture, though…" Kathy mused aloud. "But, it was so much fun, I couldn't really care."

"Plus, the look on all of the others' faces when we ended up rolling that huge snowball down that hill and into Chris' group…" Ryn sighed happily.

"Who took the picture, Beautiful?"

"One of the ladies in Auntie's building had come out with hot chocolate for everyone and she wanted to try out her new camera," Kathy replied, sipping her fourth cup of cocoa; at the amused looks of her best friends, and boyfriend, she pouted, "What? I looked completely adorable!" She knew it wasn't how she looked in the photo, but her apparent obsession with hot chocolate that caused them to laugh at her.

"Whatever y'say, Kat," Raph snickered as she attempted to kick him around her boyfriend's legs. "It's good t'know that yer aim's always been bad."

"Jackass," she huffed, squeaking when Mikey reached over her and placed a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of her, "Meep! Mikey, when'd you wake up?"

"When Raphie stormed through the Lair trying to find you, Babe," he chuckled at her. "If you don't want the pancakes, I can eat them -"

"Nuh-uh! My chocolate chip pancakes!" She grinned, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek, "Thanks, Mike; you're the best fun-loving-awesome-cook brother a girl could ask for!"

He turned a suspicious shade darker, much to his brothers' amusement. "Hey, Mike, do I need to worry about you stealing my girlfriend away?" Normally Donnie didn't tease his brothers, but he couldn't resist it this time.

Both his brother and girlfriend shared a look before they chorused, "Me and him/her? Eeew!"

"I'll take him if you don't want him, Katy," Ryn's mischievous comment caused poor Mikey to turn a deeper shade as the Lair was filled with peals of laughter.

Fin.

_Authoress' Notes: Well, after a… (checks) nearly five-month absence, I finally got this Story finished. (sighs) I am SO sorry, Kat; I hadn't thought it'd be that hard to figure out how I wanted it done. Lol. Well, now it's here, it's up, and it's, hopefully, good. I hope you like it, Kat, and that I kept Ryn In-Character. (HUG)_

_As for everyone else, I hope you enjoyed!_

_Thank you to everyone for Reading, Alerting, and Favouriting myself and my Stories, but most especially to those who take the time to Review; it means a lot. I think everyone else who is also an Author/ess knows this as well as I do._

_Please Read and Review; the more reviews an Author/ess receives on a story, the more and quicker s/he is spurred to write. I accept all reviews: Comment, Compliment, and Criticism (preferably __**Constructive**__ Criticism); I accept Flames, but nothing with swearing in it, since the Default Profanity Filter is on my reviews. Thanks!_

_Cowabunga,_

_Laura a.k.a. uncutetomboy_


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